"What just happened?"
"What was that black face?"
"Is that curse real?!"
Tony asked Stephen Strange anxiously after hearing Dormammu's words.
Pepper also looked at Strange in terror.
If the curse was truly real—
Then what would happen to their child?
Strange sighed heavily.
"The curse has already taken form."
"I never expected Dormammu to target you."
He looked serious.
"He is the same entity responsible for the Los Angeles incident when my senior brother was still on Earth."
"Let me try to see if I can break the curse."
After explaining the origin of the dark presence, Strange immediately began preparing a spell.
Tony nodded urgently.
"Do it."
WHOOSH—
Stephen Strange began casting multiple spells from Kamar-Taj.
Complex magical sigils formed in the air.
Golden runes surrounded Pepper.
But after several attempts, Strange's expression grew darker.
The spells reacted to the curse—
But they could not remove it.
Dormammu's consciousness fragment had been weak.
However, the curse itself had already taken physical form.
Once a curse was completed, it could not simply be erased by ordinary magic.
Strange finally stopped.
He sighed deeply.
"My cultivation level is too low."
"The spells I can cast aren't powerful enough to remove this curse."
He looked at Tony and Pepper seriously.
"This curse would require someone at least at the Pseudo–Single-Universe Level to remove it."
"Or an extremely ancient spell from before the current magical system."
He hesitated before continuing.
"You might try asking Asgard for help."
"They possess ancient magic older than Kamar-Taj."
Strange then added quietly:
"The only thing I can do right now…"
"Is delay the baby's birth."
"At most, I can delay it by three months."
"Otherwise your wife's body won't be able to handle it."
The moment Pepper heard this—
She fainted.
"Pepper!"
"Pepper!!"
Tony rushed forward in panic.
But he forced himself to stay calm.
"Please delay the baby's birth!"
"Jarvis! Scan Pepper's condition immediately!"
Howard and Maria also rushed into the room after hearing the commotion.
Meanwhile, Stephen Strange sighed again.
He opened the box Karl had once given him.
Inside it were several magical items.
He removed a small green sphere of temporal energy.
Using it, Strange cast a time-delay spell on Pepper.
The spell slowed the progression of the child's birth.
Pepper had already been nine months pregnant.
Without intervention, she would have given birth within a month.
Strange had not expected something like this to happen.
He felt slightly guilty.
Perhaps the dark energy had slipped through a flaw in Earth's magical defenses.
"Sir," Jarvis reported.
"Ms. Pepper's condition is stable."
"She only fainted due to shock."
"She requires rest."
Hearing this, Tony finally relaxed slightly.
Meanwhile, Howard and Maria looked at Tony with confused expressions.
They had no idea what had just happened.
"Alright."
Strange spoke again.
"I've delayed the birth."
He hesitated before continuing.
"To be honest, I'm not sure whether Asgard can remove the curse."
"But my senior brother Karl definitely can."
Strange looked serious.
"If possible, it might be better to go directly to him."
He wrote down a phone number and handed it to Tony.
"If you need help, contact me."
Then he opened a portal and left.
As soon as Strange disappeared, Howard immediately asked:
"Tony, what's going on?"
"What curse were you talking about?"
"And what's wrong with Pepper?"
"Is the baby in danger?"
Tony collapsed onto the floor.
He explained everything weakly.
"Just now…"
"A face made of dark energy invaded the house."
"It tried to control my mind."
"But Karl's mental defenses protected me."
"Then Pepper came in after hearing my scream."
"The dark energy tried to control her too."
"But she also had Karl's protection."
Tony paused.
His voice trembled.
"Then the Sorcerer Supreme arrived…"
"And the dark energy formed that face again."
"It cursed the child inside Pepper."
Howard and Maria were stunned.
Their grandchild had been cursed before birth.
Tony slowly stood up.
Then he walked toward his laboratory.
He planned to contact Thor first.
Maybe Thor knew a solution.
If Thor couldn't help—
Then Tony would travel into space and find Karl himself.
For his child—
Tony was willing to do anything.
Howard and Maria stayed behind to care for Pepper.
Meanwhile, Tony entered his lab.
Suddenly he remembered something.
Heimdall.
Heimdall possessed the ability to see and hear almost everything in the Nine Realms.
If Tony could attract Heimdall's attention—
He could contact Thor.
Tony quickly built a powerful megaphone system.
He carried it outside the valley.
Then he shouted toward the sky.
"Heimdall!!"
Although Thor still had the communicator Tony once gave him—
It only worked on Earth.
So Tony had no choice but to call Heimdall directly.
If Heimdall heard him, he could notify Thor.
Thor could either bring Tony to Asgard—
Or come down to Earth.
And indeed—
Heimdall heard the call.
Standing guard at the Bifröst Bridge, Heimdall turned his gaze toward Earth.
He saw Tony standing beside a massive loudspeaker.
He recognized Tony immediately.
He had observed Earth many times and knew that Tony was Thor's friend.
Since Tony was calling his name, something serious must have happened.
However, Heimdall could not activate the Bifröst without Thor's permission.
So he reported the situation to Thor.
Thor was slightly confused.
Tony had never visited Asgard before.
But hearing the urgency of the situation, he gave Heimdall permission.
"Bring him here."
Heimdall immediately activated the Bifröst.
A seven-colored beam of light descended upon Earth.
Tony was instantly enveloped by the rainbow energy.
The beam shot into the sky.
Tony vanished from the valley.
At the same moment, Tony closed the visor of his armor.
Jarvis also automatically shut down the megaphone system.
...
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